1. Technical Field
The present invention provides an improved communications system and in particular an improved method and apparatus for monitoring elements in a communications system. Still more particularly, the present invention provides an improved method and apparatus for monitoring testing of a communications system.
2. Description of the Related Art
Communications networks have evolved to encompass a variety of services, platforms, applications, data processing system hardware, and equipment, referred to as xe2x80x9cnetwork productsxe2x80x9d. Testing of network products occurs prior to introducing them into commercial communications networks. It is desirable to minimize the amount of time needed to test a network product so that the network product can be introduced into a commercial environment as soon as possible.
Local area network (LAN) technology and communications architectures have been used to test network products. Graphical user interfaces (GUIs) are located locally or remotely to a data processing system, which drives the actual testing of network products. This methodology is referred to as client/server technology. The graphical user interface (GUI) is an application, referred to as a xe2x80x9cclientxe2x80x9d, which executes on a data processing system in the network. A software application that is employed to satisfy the requests of a client is referred to as a xe2x80x9cserverxe2x80x9d. The server also executes on a data processing system in the network. The client/server framework preferably allows a client to be located on any data processing system in the network, even on the same data processing system on which the server resides. These technologies are used to form a communications test network to test network products.
The server traditionally synchronizes a multiplicity of clients to server functions in a communications test environment. Resources, such as available trunks, switches, automatic response units, automatic call distributors, credit card validators, and network topology are examples of resources to which the server will send and synchronize test requests. In a communications test network, heterogeneous network testing by a number of users may include a large number of servers. Heterogeneous network testing involves testing, originating, and/or terminating equipment or switches for multiple vendors. In this case, it is difficult to track the status of various servers within the communications test network. For example, a server that is down may go undetected for long periods of time because test case execution is performed in an asynchronous manner. Many test cases will have failed or will not have been executed before the problem server is identified. In this instance, when the problem server is identified, test cases may have to be repeated to properly test network products in the communications test network. As a result, the amount of time needed to test network products may increase the amount of time needed to test the network products, thus, delaying the introduction of the network products into a commercial communications system.
Therefore, it would be advantageous to have an improved method and apparatus for monitoring servers and network products in a communications test network.
The present invention provides a communications system in which a network is present that provides a plurality of communications paths. A plurality of elements is connected to the network including a monitor server, wherein the monitor server includes monitoring means for obtaining status information from the plurality of elements. Also connected to the network is a client server, wherein the client server includes communications means for retrieving status information from the monitor server. Display means is present on the client server for displaying status information on a graphical user interface.